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I don't know the situation in the US, but my impression is that Steinway and Bösendorfer are two brands that I would avoid buying used. Not because these are bad pianos but because every owner of these pianos seems to think that his "30-year-old-got-last-tuning-10-years-ago" Steinway or Bösendorfer is still worth $30K or more. There may be exceptions, but this was my experience.

Other top-brands like Bechstein, Grotrian, Förster, or Blüthner can be bought for much less.

One interesting but risky variant is to buy an older piano in need of a big repair. If you add the cost of the repair to the price, you can sometimes get an excellent piano for very little money. I'd recommend this option only if the buyer has enough time and experience to do this, though.

#909033 - 12/15/0409:52 AMRe: Very Low Mileage, Like new, Hardly used at all ...

Ori
1000 Post Club Member
Registered: 11/20/04
Posts: 1704
Loc: Stamford CT, New York City .

Posted by seebechstein:

Quote:

Here's an ad that you think you would occasionally see (but never do) in the local newspaper, pennysaver, greensheet, or eBay:

Hello. I recently lost my grandmother and inherited her furnished home. I'm selling the furniture which includes a grand piano, black, really big. Name on piano something like Borendozer, can't remember exactly; had some funny dots over the letters I think. Looks to be in perfect condition but has an odd shape, not round on the end. I think she bought it new about 5 - 10 years ago. Asking $5000 or best offer. [/b]

Funny… but it is also raising a good point.This ad is never seen for a reason.When people inherit a piano and think it may have some value they will usually call some local dealers first.What the dealers are willing to pay, is the value of the piano for them.Dealers have to take few things into account. The amount of work/money that it will take in order to put this piano into a “showroom” condition (showroom condition may greatly vary from one dealer to another). The cost of the moves, cost/risk of providing a warranty and the service that they will have to offer to the customer that will buy it from them.

Sometimes, the person that is trying to sell their piano is happy with the amount that is offered to her by several dealers, and sells the piano to one of them. Usually, there will not be a great difference between dealers as they know the value of the instruments.

Other times, the person is unhappy with the quotes they got and are trying to sell it privately.They will usually try to get more than a few hundred $ then what the dealer is willing to pay.I have seen many times pianos that no dealer was willing to pay more then 7K for, being offered privately for 15K or even 20K by the seller.Sometimes people do very good buying privately, other times they do not.But they will almost ALWAYS pay substantially more then a dealer for the same piano. If work is needed, it will cost them a lot more than it will cost the dealer (as the dealer will get wholesale prices or will do the work himself or in his factory).

So I usually recommend for those looking to buy pianos privately to stick to pianos that are not too old(less then 20 years if possible) and if they find something that they think is interesting, have it inspected by a tech.

A 5 yo Bosie for 10K? Forget it, the sealers will buy it before it will get to the paper.

_________________________
Ori Bukai - Owner/Founder of Allegro Pianos - New York City and Stamford CT showrooms.

One more thing... ask your tech if he/she knows of any good private pianos that are likely to be sold.

They will have had good first-hand knowledge of the condition of the piano itself, and often are one of the first to know when an owner is going to sell. They sometimes get called in for appraisals in estate sales as well--I know my tech does. It may be possible to go see and buy a piano that never officially enters the market.

I also have a friend who was able to buy a good Steinway from a music prof here. Turns out the school was going to "recycle" (for lack of a better term) all the pianos in the music school. We all think of the practice pianos, but faculty studio pianos are also often swapped out. The piano would have been sold in one of those ubiquitous "university sales" jobbies that are such a nightmare. In this case, my friend spoke earlier to another member of the music department, who in turn passed her name on when the pianos were due to go on sale. She did buy it during the sale, but it had already been earmarked for her.